Sweatshop & NewSouth announce Pasifika-Australian literary initiative

Sweatshop Literacy Movement and NewSouth Publishing have announced Fresh Off the Books: The Pasifika Australian Literary Initiative, described as Australia’s first literary program for Pasifika-Australian writers.

Twelve successful applicants will receive a year-long scholarship (including a stipend of $1000) to develop their critical and creative writing portfolios, including through masterclasses, one-on-one consultations, and editorial support. The initiative will culminate in an anthology of Pasifika writing, the ‘first collection by Australian writers of Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Māori, Hawaiian, Torres Strait Islander and many other South Pacific cultural backgrounds’.

Winnie Dunn, author of Dirt Poor Islanders (Hachette), who will direct the initiative, said, ‘Fresh Off the Books celebrates the richness of Pasifika-Australian stories, and I’m honoured to help bring it all to life with NewSouth and Sweatshop’s commitment to authentic and diverse storytelling.’

NewSouth editor Harriet McInerney said: ‘All of us at NewSouth are so thrilled to be working with Winnie Dunn on this ground-breaking anthology of Pasifika writing.’

The initiative is open to emerging adult writers of Pasifika backgrounds. The anthology is scheduled to be published by NewSouth in the second half of 2026.

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